Can anyone help? Just finishing sanding my blank and have the shape and thickness i want but have small holes?
Not sure if they are there from when the foam was made? I dont want to keep sanding , will these dissapear when i glass or will i still see them?
Is this common when shaping or is there something i could have done?
Please HELP!!!
thanks
muzzer
It was hard to catch them on the camera but you might see what i mean. There are a few of them!!!bugger
If those are regular, round shaped, they are probably bubbles in the blank. It happens. Bummer if you’re going for a tinted resin work because they will show, whatever you do. If clear resin, they won’t show as much. If they are irregularly shaped and especially if situated near the stringer(s), they are more likely to be tearing foam with bad tools or bad technique. Those can be removed by sanding some more if you can do it without going too thin.
Thanks for the reply!!
Gave it another go with sandpaper and some came out still some there though.
If air bubbles in blank ,is this common?
I’m using clear resin so fingers crossed.
Unfortunately, yes, it’s quite common. Some brands more than others, though… But it does happen from time to time, even in regularly good quality blanks… No influence whatsoever on strength or performance, just cosmetics.
Chances are the small holes are indeed air bubbles in the foam, I had a few on my first two blanks and I am getting ready to glass my third and there are some clusters of them in different spots on the deck and bottom. I checked the archives and found out that some guys fill them with either foam dust and elmer’s glue or lam resin tinted white and foam dust. I am glassing this board clear but I am still going to try to fill these holes as some are on the rail and the ones on the bottom were still visible on my first glassed board. Good luck with yours muzzer!
Use spackle if you want to fill them. Easier to sand flush with foam than any resin mix.
Thanks for all the tips guys!!! I had thought about filling with dust as when ive sanded board and the dust still on there, they appear less noticable.
I am very green and iam unsure of what spackle is??? Will this stand out when the resin goes on??
Can you help?
Thanks to everyone who has commented
muzzer
Spackle is what you use on walls to make them smooth before painting. It’s used mainly on EPS blanks to fill them before glassing but it works very well on PU blanks for filling bubbles. It will be noticeable under your resin/glass, but WHITE. “Unfilled” bubbles will just appear a bit darker.
Muzz:
I shape a lot of seconds that have lots of
holes/bubbles an always “candle” the blanks
after skinning so I can see where the bubbles
are. Just hold the blank up to your shaping lights
and the bubble beds should show up. If you are
going to spackle, then make sure you do it as
a last step. No mater what type of spakle you
use, it is always more dense than the foam which
will sand down quicker than the spackle. If you
are making a “clear” board, then the spackle won’t
show up in any noticable way. (You would be shocked
as to what goes on with some of the big name boards
in production glass shops!) Also, if you spray the board
white, it will make a better product and the spackle will
disapear. good luck and be sure to post your results!
As posted on another thread…
What about spackling the entire blank before laminating? Most of us are doing that anyway with EPS blanks. Seems like an even coating would fill the holes without leaving telltale repaired spots.
found this thread while doing a search…
well… i made a bumper on the bottom of my first project… it’s far from done… the foil is looking like this now… http://picasaweb.google.pt/cornelyus7/HomemadeProject#5303372017101220866
And the damage i done near the nose… http://picasaweb.google.pt/cornelyus7/HomemadeProject#5303372036365749154
i know i will bring a bit of the nose down… but i still have to skin the deck… so i don’t want to thin out the nose entirely … first board and i don’t know if i shouldn’t stress out, because this will disguise eventually… or if there is a way of “covering” it…
Thanks
‘‘Shotgun air’’ is the PU blankmakers term for this. Larger holes with hard linings are termed ‘‘voids’’. Blowing perfect PU is a hard, hard job. Go out and buy some normal marine-grade sheet foam and you’ll see the difference between surfboard PU and what’s normally acceptable.
Shotgun air is purely a cosmetic problem and nothing to worry about on your first board.If they’re 1-2 mm, just glass over them and babysit the area or come back and fill if they hold air bubbles. It’s a learning process anyway, just move along and enjoy the ride!
thanks for the reply and tips Mike!!